Costumer ladder truck



Feb. 12, 1929. 1,701,951

F3. B. HOLT .c'osTuuER LADDER TRUCK Filed May 10, 1927 INVEN'II'OR I ATTORN EY$,

Patented 12, 192?).

UNTE' STATES A if RAYMOND B. HOLT, OFIBLOOMFIELD, NEXV JERSEiZ, ASSIGNOR TO FACTORY SERVICE EQUIPMENT 00., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

COSTUMER LADDER 'TRUGK.

Application filedMay 10, 1927. Serial No. 190,182.

This invention relates to a combined costumer and truck such as is used in department stores for transporting and supporting garments during marking in the marking room and in removing the garments from the marking room, to the sales rooms. These trucks are also used in conveying fur coats and the like from collecting desks or departments to the fur storage department. In such fur storage departments it is customary to hang the'garments on racks, which are disposed in superposed tiers, and to enable the clerk to hang the garments on the upper tiers or racks ladders are necessary. According to the present practice stepdadders are sometimes used as are also rolling ladders movable in the aisles between the raclrs. Much diliiculty is encountered by the ladders forming obstructions to the passage of trucks throughthe aisles, and due. to the fact that the ladders are frequently located at points remote from Where it is desired to use them.

One object of the invention is to provide a combined costumer truck and'ladder wherein the ladder is permanently attached to the truck so as to be always immediately accessible to-the handler of the truck and normally disposed in an out-of-the-way position.

Another object is to provide such a combined costumer and ladder truckin which the ladder is adjnstably. mounted and is normally in spaced relationtothe floor so as to in no manner obstruct or hinder movement of the truck, the ladder being forced into tight frictional engagement with the floor when the operator steps, upon the ladder, so that the ladder serves to fix or hold the truck against movement on the floor and the truck serves to support the ladder in upright position, both the truck and the ladder being immovable relatively to the floor and to each other so that the load bar of the truck is always accessible from the ladder, and accidents averted.

Other objects are to provide a costumerladder truck wherein the ladder is mounted in guides at each end of the truck for vertical sliding movement and normally held in spaced relation to the floor by springs or the like which yield under the weight of a per son on the ladder to permit the ladder to be forced incontact with the floor; to provide such a device or apparatus embodying novel and improved details of construction, and to obtain other results and advantages as will appear from the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which corresponding and like parts are themeans for mounting the ladder on the truck.

Specifically describing the illustrated em bodiment of the invention, the reference charr acter A designates a costumer truck conipris ing substantially vertical end pieces or uprights 1 and :2 which are preferably in the form of inverted Ueshaped pipes having casters 3 mounted in their'lower ends. A platform 4 is fixedly secured to the uprights 1 and 2 adjacent their lower ends, and the uprights are connected at their upper ends by a load supporting cross-bar 5 One upright, in the present instance the upright 2, is preferably somewhat inclined inwardly over the plat form as shown in Figure l of the drawings, and serves as a support for a ladder B. i

The ladder B is preferably, formed of light material, such as pipe, and includes stiles 6 and cross-bars or rungs '7. The stiles are preferably spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the arms of the upright 2, and each stile is slidable in a pair of bracketsS. These brackets are each shown as consisting of a T-fitting 9 secured to the corresponding arm of the upright 2 in any suitable manner as by across-pin 10. The fitting 9, is connected by a nipple 11 to a similar fitting 12 which slidably receives the corresponding stile 6 of the ladder. The stiles 6 are preferably provided with feet 13 of rubber or other friction-producing material.

7 The ladder is normally influenced upwardly upward movement. The tension of the spring- 1 1 is such that when a person steps upon a rung of the" ladder, the ladder is slid downwardly in the brackets 8 and the feet 13 forced into tight frictional engagement with the floor.

it will be understood from the foregoing that the truck A serves as stable support or base for the ladder, the inclination of the upright 2 locating the ladder so that a person may'comfortably work thereon in removing garments from the cross-bar 5 to another rack.

. The tight engagement of thefeet of the ladder with the floor when a person is mounted on the ladder holds the truck,which is ineffect I wardly'agains't the influence ofthe' spring 15,. the slot 18 riding over the lug 17, and the spring 15 will return'the ladder to its upper- V 7 end with a floor or the like, and means inter-' posed between said brackets and thestiles a wheeled base, against movement, and the at tachment of the ladder to the truck makes it always accessible to the handler of the truck and at a working position relative to the truck, so that the inconvenience of finding the ladder and then positioning it in proper relation to the truck and ensuring against movement of I g p right thereon, a I ladder including StllGS, brackets secured to said upright and slidably the truck, as is now'common, are obviated;

In Figure 2 of the drawings is shown a construction 'whereinthe spring 14 is eliminated and the ladder is normally influenced ntoits uppermost position by a compression spring 15 interposed between a cap 16 on the upper end ofeach of the stiles and a'lug'17 projectfor mounting the ladder on the truck is otherwise the same as that above described. Ob'

viously, the ladder stiles may slide down:

most position. v g Another form or mounting for the ladder is shownin Figure 4c of the drawingswherein a compression spring 19 surrounds the upper end of each stile and is interposed between a washer 2O beneath the cap 16 and another washer 21 above the T-fitting 12. The function of the spring 19 is the sameas that of the spring 15. I l

' Obviously while the truck A serves to transport articles, in the broader aspects of the invention the truck constitutes a wheeled sup B; many modificationsand changesmay be made in the details of construction and use of the invention without departing from the lower end spaced from the floor.

Having thus described the invention, what i I claim is:

1. A device of the character descrlbed,

comprising a wheeled base having an upright thereon, a ladder vertically inovably mounted on said upright and adapted to contact at its lower end with a floor or like support upon downward movement to hold said wheeled base and upright against movement on the floor, and means for normally hold.

ing said ladder with its lower end spaced from the floor;

2. A device of the character described, comprising a wheeled base having an upright thereon, a ladder vertically movably mounted on said upright and adapted tocontact at its lower end with a fioor or like support upon jdownward movement to hold said wheeled base and upright against movement on the floor, and means for actuating and normally holding said ladder with its lower end spaced from the floor; 1 r i 8. The device set forthin claim 2 receiving the stiles of said, ladder so that theladder is movable up and down in said brackets and is adapted to contact at its lower end'with a floor or the like, and means for normally holding said'ladder with its lower end spaced from the floor.

g I wherein the last-mentioned means 1S yieldable under 6. A device of the character described,

comprising a. wheeled base having an up-* right thereon, a ladder including stiles, brackets secured to said upright and slidably receiving the stiles of said ladder so that the ladder, is. movable up and down in said brackets and is adapted to-c'ontact at its lower of said ladder for actuating said ladder npwardly and normally holding it with its mounted on 'said inclined upright and adapted to contact at its lower end with a floor or like support,and means for normally holding said ladder out of contactfwith the floor, the

truclrserving to support and transport the ladder in proper working relation to the loadsupporting bar of the truck and the ladder cooperating with the truck to hold both thetruck and the. ladder fast against movement when a person is mounted upon the ladder.

8. A device of the character described, comprising a wheeled base having an upright thereon, a ladder including stiles, brackets secured to said upright and slidably receiv ing the stiles of said ladder so that the ladder is movable up and down in said brackets and is adapted to contact at its lower end with a floor or the like, and a compression spring interposed between one of said brackets and the corresponding stile of said ladder for actuating said ladder upwardly and normally holding it with its lower end spaced from the floor, said spring being yieldable downwardly under the weight of a person on said ladder.

RAYMOND B. HOLT. 

